Last Moments
by Fernalidana
Summary: A terrible rumor is going around that the genius of the battlefield has gone mad. Lawfer knows this is not true, and sets out to prove it.


Disclaimer: Valkyrie Profile is a great game but I, unfortunately, don't own it. Just as a side note, it's always bugged me that you don't know how Lawfer died. Don't ask me why. Therefore, I decided to give him a story.

Last Moments

"Arngrim did _what_? This is some sort of mistake!! Please check again." He tried to calm down, but what his father told him left him in a state of horror. His father had just finished telling him that the genius of the battlefield had betrayed them. He couldn't believe it. There must have been a mistake. Arngrim would have never done something so horrible! _But Arngrim took his own life instead of harming my father. He couldn't have done what they say._

"He killed Princess Jelanda, Lord Lombert, and thirty soldiers of the guard!!" shouted his father. Lawfer could detect inner turmoil hidden beneath the outward anger. "The situation is clear." Three horrible crimes… it wasn't possible. He wouldn't believe it. _No! This isn't true! Not Arngrim! He's my friend!_ Now his father was suggesting something terrible, and he had a feeling what that something would be. _Roland… they'll take Roland in…_

"Father!"

"Please understand," said his father in a soothing voice. Lawfer turned away. No more was spoken between them. He stayed quiet and soon his father left him alone. He still couldn't believe it. He _wouldn't_ believe it. Arngrim might have been a mercenary, but he was not cold-hearted. He would not have killed the princess! Lawfer was sure of it! The loss of Lombert wasn't really something he was going to mourn. He had never really liked the man; there was something not right about him. As for the thirty soldiers… well, he wouldn't believe it unless he saw the evidence before his eyes. _Arngrim… you have always been so strong. It seems strange to think of you as dead…_

CLANK!

"Please let's just stop, Arngrim," he begged. "I'm not a genius like you." He and his good friend Arngrim were sparring with spears. Although Arngrim was more familiar with a sword, he still dominated his younger friend in the battle. The two had become close friends even though their personalities and professions differed. Lawfer sparred with this genius of the battlefield in hopes of becoming like him in strength and skill.

" 'Genius'?" echoed Arngrim mockingly. "That's what losers say. He's 'different'. He's 'special'." He picked up Lawfer's spear and held it out to him. "Pick up your spear. All you can do is your best."

He walked as if possessed by some force. The memory was fresh and clear as if it had only happened yesterday. Not long ago he and Arngrim were the closest of friends. Could it be true what they said of him? No! He rested his spear on the ground and leaned on it for support. There had to be something behind it all, some sort of explanation that would be feasible. Two knights passed by him talking about Arngrim. Now the rumors say that he went _mad_! How absolutely absurd! Those that knew him well would know this was nothing but fabrication!

__

If this world is hell, then… the gods are kinder than everybody thinks.

They were once sitting together on a hill, away from Artolia. Lawfer had asked many questions of his older friends, all having to do with his occupation as a mercenary. Lawfer had lived so long abiding by the rules of knighthood that he found it odd that a person could live any other way. Arngrim unearthed a clump of grass and allowed it to fly away from his fingers. The wind picked them up and carried them out of sight.

"Are you just a blade of grass to be blown by the wind?" asked the older man. The question struck Lawfer hard. _All that I do is simply because someone has told me to do it,_ he realized. _I have no mind of my own._ He chose to remain silent and reflect further on his friend's words.

He was right. Lawfer had to find his own path and take it, no matter where it would go. He knew what he had to do now: prove Arngrim's innocence, or die in the process. _Arngrim would do the same for me. I'm sure of it._ Before he began on this adventure, he first had to visit Arngrim's brother in the prison. He would have to find some way to free this innocent man as well. So much to do to fix this problem.

"Father… I am grateful that you chose a name for me that begins with 'Law'," he said out loud. Roland sat silently in his cell. He had been silent since his arrest. They wanted him to give information about his brother but he refused. Thus he was kept in jail until he would relent. _Though it may not be exactly the type of "Law" my father had in mind…_

He had intended on going alone, but somehow his two friends found out his plans and tagged along. He was grateful for their devotion to him, but he would have preferred his solitude over this. As they drew closer to the moment where he would have to part with them, his feet plodded increasingly slower in their gait. _What if I can find nothing? I have to! I just know he's innocent._

"My friends, this is where we part ways," he sighed. "I will go on alone." Standing behind him were two of his closest companions, Celia and Kashell. Celia gazed at him with sad eyes. He could not bear to look at her, so he turned away.

"Why must you go?" she asked him.

"There's no one else who could take this job," he answered. He heaved a deep sigh. "Please look after Roland for me. See you later." He turned to leave.

"Stop right there," ordered Celia sternly. Her voice told him he had to obey. "Do you really expect your friends to just sit by quietly while you go to meet your own death?" He could give her no response. "Dying for justice and lofty ideals is pointless!"

"There are many who would agree," said Lawfer. "But there are many who would not." Kashell snorted in annoyance.

"You're talking about Arngrim again, eh? About him being 'special'?" That made Lawfer angry. Surely they didn't also believe the rumors?! Was he the only one that still believed in Arngrim's innocence?

"You're wrong! It's not like that…"

"Lawfer…" Celia reached out her hand to soothe her young friend. 

"In this line of work, I know there are times when you have to just grit your teeth and face death," said Kashell. "But that doesn't mean you should throw your life away!" Perhaps he was right, but there was no other choice available. 

"Hey, let's all go together," suggested Celia, her voice hopeful. She offered Lawfer a smile. "There's no reason to do it alone! If we all go, then--" She trailed off uncertainly. Lawfer shook his head.

"No. Don't you ever wonder why Arngrim did what he did? Even though he understood what it would do to Roland?" This rendered Celia and Kashell speechless. Lawfer grew somber as he continued. "It's not just that. He didn't want to draw his sword against my father. And so he--" He shuttered at the thought. _He was truly a good friend, far too good a friend._ "When I think of how he must have felt--"

"Lawfer, please listen to reason," begged Celia. "I don't want you to die!"

"Dying is a part of life, Celia. I would rather die fighting for something I believe in than in a foolish battle with no meaning." He leaned on his spear. "I beg of you not to follow me. Go back and tell my father… tell him I have gone off to search for the truth. If I die, so be it. If I live, then Arngrim's name shall be cleared." Celia and Kashell said nothing. He bowed to them and continued on into the forest.

The road to Villnore was dark but Lawfer's eyes were trained enough to show him where to go. He followed the footprints left by the search party; three days had passed since Arngrim's death. The prints stopped, showing signs that the search party had gone back in the opposite direction. A heavy set of footprints continued on; this was most likely from Arngrim. There were other prints that followed Arngrim's, then went in the opposite direction. Someone had decided to run. He stopped in his tracks.

"Oh, my god!" he gasped. Several bodies were lying on the ground. Some of them were soldiers, and further on he could spot blonde hair. He first examined the soldiers. There were long scars on the bodies that could not have been made by a sword. An animal with claws… no, it had to have been a big animal… a demon! Yes, that had to have been it! The cavalry had been attacked by a demon. He continued searching as the moon shimmered overhead.

Lawfer came upon the body of Princess Jelanda. He drew closer to examine her. She was lying face-up with her head tilted slightly to the right. She was wearing a red riding jacket over a purple blouse and black pants. Her mouth was open, her curly blonde hair cushioning her head. He gazed down on the young monarch sadly. Why had the search party left the princess here on the road? No scavengers hovered over the princess' body either. Something was very wrong here. It didn't seem right for her to have the road as her final resting place, so he picked her up and carried her into the nearby woods. As he lifted her head into the light, he noticed some kind of foreign liquid on her lips. He ran his finger over her cold lips and examined the liquid.

"Hmm… this looks to be Ghoul Powder." Only a necromancer would have the knowledge to make such a potion, and Lawfer knew Arngrim was most definitely _not_ a necromancer. The princess's blouse was torn; a long gash ran up her body, looking to be made by a double-bladed sword… a smaller sword than Arngrim wielded… He began to piece things together. The only way for the princess to have gotten Ghoul Powder was if someone had given it to her, perhaps someone in the cavalry. They would have had no intention of poising in her, naturally. _Lombert_. Lombert must have been responsible for the Ghoul Powder. The cavalry unknowingly gave the princess the potion, she was turned into a demon, and someone had stopped her before she could hurt someone. Angrim must have known Lombert was behind it; that was why he killed the villainous snake. As for the thirty soldiers, they were accounted for here. Arngrim was innocent, just like he had known all along.

"Leave the girl…" The voice, haunting and horrible, chilled him to the bone. A vampire was hovering above him, displaying its fangs in the moonlight. Lawfer carefully placed the princess' body down, clutching the handle of his spear. "She is a gift to Lady Beliza."

"I shall not allow you to take her!" shouted Lawfer. His voice sounded small in the great forest.

"Foolish human. Death is upon you." Lawfer stared boldly at his enemy, his jaw set in determination.

"I will not run away." The vampire raised a hand to call upon its fellow undead spirits. Soon Lawfer was surrounded by undead creatures of all sorts, bearing down on him like giant weights. "I have nothing but to fight," he sighed. He rushed into the battle.

He skillfully swung his axe, neatly decapitating a zombie. He gave himself no time for celebration but quickly skewered another that was closely advancing. He cut down the oncoming monsters as if they were trees. Suddenly three succubi dived down and attacked his exposed back, their talons tearing into his armor. He spun around to counter-attack but at that moment a demon wielding a blade slashed at him. He killed the succubi one by one, then got rid of the bothersome demon hacking away at him. And still they came, relentless and unfazed by his efforts. There were so many on every side of him and no matter how many were taken down, more appeared. He was growing weaker from loss of blood and energy. The longer he fought, the harder it became for him to take down the next foe.

"I cannot give up!" he shouted defiantly to the sky. "I will not give up!" The bodies of those he had already killed were many, but many more were those that still lived and still fought him. He took down another one, and another one still, and continued to do so even though every joint in his body screamed in pain. Five demons rushed at him all at once, and he wasn't fast enough to kill them all. One sunk a blade into Lawfer's side before it too was killed. Lawfer stumbled to the ground, breathing heavily. His body could no longer continue fighting. He saw the demons bearing down on the princess. They cackled madly in triumph.

"A perfect gift to Lady Beliza!" cackled the leading vampire. Lawfer forced himself up, his eyes flashing darkly even as they began to mist over. He gathered all of his remaining strength and beheaded the vampire in a single blow. The other demons screeched in agony as their leader was killed. They faded away into the night, leaving Lawfer to die alone. He smiled in relief; the princess was safe now. He allowed himself to sink to the ground and fell into an eternal slumber.

Arngrim did what? This is some sort of mistake!!

Do you really expect your friends to just sit by quietly while you go to meet your own death? Dying for justice and lofty ideals is pointless!

You're talking about Arngrim again, eh? About him being "special"?

I will not run away.

He found himself standing again. He felt strong and rejuvenated, maybe stronger than ever. He was surrounded by darkness, but unlike the forest, this darkness was not interrupted. He could see no floor but he was standing on some flat surface. A young woman appeared before him. She wore pale blue armor and a feathered helmet. Her hair was long and silver, her face beautiful and wise. He had often heard the tales of Valkyries, but he never expected to meet one. He also knew what it meant when a dead warrior saw a Valkyrie.

"I am honored that you chose me, Lady Valkyrie," he said. His voice traveled in the empty place.

"You have earned the right to fight as an Einherjar. Your last battle was honorable and brave," she said. Lawfer was silent for a moment. He didn't expect to be praised by a goddess.

"My lady, I worry about Roland. I was unable to help him, and I was unable to prove Arngrim's innocence to my father." He began to panic as he continued. "And what of my friends? They will wonder what became of me! My death will surely disturb them."

"So it is the welfare of others that you are most concerned with?" she questioned.

"They are my friends," he replied. "I must do what I can."

"You have already done all you could do. It is now time for them to do what they can." Lawfer sighed; he knew she spoke the truth. "Let us go." Lawfer obediently followed the Valkyrie, taking one last look at Midgard before leaving it.

~end 


End file.
